bench

incredibly simple but here's another i'm on the fence with. if the stained area above the bench wan't present i would not have taken this, but i think it adds and gives reason for including the space. i wish the bench had been old and wooden, but not sure if it would make that much a difference. oh well, let me know what you think.

taken at a the smithsonian scuptures park adjacent to the mall. (mall: open court area between the capital and washington monument)

Its a bit interesting, but doesn't do too much for me. It actually reminds me of something you'd see in a place with home furnishings like Ikea. They have some framed art that is sort of general decorating type items and I have seem images that were somewhat similar. I can't say that I see anything wrong with it or that I would suggest doing anything different, however the subject just doesn't do enough for me.

The elements are there. Nice textures and a lot of tonal values. I think the problem is that the bench is too close to the background. Considering that the bench is not screwed to the ground: Moving the subject closer to the lens will allow you a sharp shot and separation from the dreaded "blends into background".

Oh yeah; WHY IS THIS SHOT VERICAL!!! We see the world horizontally; so why kill your shot!!! Jokingily of course; you know I have to give you a hard time.

A strong and succesful graphic image. Though everything is immediately recognizable, it borders on abstract. Whatever initially attracted your senses - textures, tones or compositional elegance - everything works together to make a pleasing image to linger over.

Great! Love that it is vertical. It is probably my monitor, but I would seek for more 'punch'.

-Is this an in-camera crop?
-Did this view stop you and made you capture it right there?
Or is this something that you see daily, kept observing, gradually fell in love ...?

Just wanted to know what was going through your head!

Click to expand...

-i rarely if ever post crop which may be a bad thing
-in my 50 years i never ventured into this park prior to this day and have never returned

i have tried to explain what goes through my head on many occasions regarding photography and me, but never feel i adequately succeed. with the exception of one or two attempts, i never plan any shot. i was just talking with my wife tonight about this. i can't explain what process i go through because there is none. i can be walking, turn my head and in a split second i see a composed, cropped image screaming at me. if you check my website, 99.9% of the images were taken like this. i just see stuff and take it. i have had no training or taken any courses or read any books on photography, which makes me feel completely inadequate when trying to critique others work here. i mean i read comments like Hertz, you, Tuna, Chase, et al leave and have generally no clue much what you're talking about...to a degree some, but for the most part im lost. now you ask how can i monitor this section and the photo gallery? :lmao: easy, im an administrator by profession; i just enforce the rules and make people feel all warm inside . but seriously, you asked the wrong guy what goes on in their head when shooting a pic. when im clicking the button, im more than likely thinking about my work, one of my children or on which corner is the nearest hot dog stand. sorry i bored you and yep, i still didn't quite explain that i don't think about photography at all. thats not true; i do think about it when i convert to b&w and create borders.